European firm Zacco acquires Lakhshya Cyber Security Labs

European intellectual property consulting firm Zacco has acquired Coimbatore-based Lakhshya Cyber Security Labs Pvt. Ltd.

The acquisition is an important step for Zacco in establishing a global cybersecurity centre in India, the Scandinavian company said in a statement. It didn't reveal the acquisition value.

Zacco Group CEO Mats Boström said India is a world-leading hub for advanced digital technology and Lakhshya will add “unique expertise” to its R&D centre in Bengaluru.

“In the digitalised world, cybercrime and digital threats are unfortunately an increasing challenge for many organizations and individuals. Data, algorithms and all types of digital technology are today significant intellectual property and strategic assets,” he said. 

Lakhshya was founded in 2017 by Pradeep Menon and Premchand Kurup. The company offers security research, outsourcing and education services. It has also built expertise in niche cybersecurity areas such as malware analysis and cyber breach investigation, Zacco said.

Lakhshya has a team of more than 40 professionals with expertise across banking, financial services and insurance, aviation, government, automotive, manufacturing and trading verticals with real-time monitoring services through its security operations centre. 

Pradeep Menon, who is the chief officer for security excellence at Lakhshya Labs, will continue as chief officer after the acquisition. 

Menon said the deal will help it accelerate its research and development initiatives, build new competencies and become a cybersecurity research and development centre of excellence for Zacco in India.

Zacco India R&D Centre started 15 months ago and now has more than 100 employees. “We will integrate Lakhshya into our cybersecurity division and enhance our current offerings. We will also use Lakhshya research labs to innovate new offerings in the intellectual property space,” said Ravi Sunderrajan, MD, Zacco India R&D.

Zacco is a full-service intellectual property consultancy with around 150 years of experience. The company offers services such as patent filing, trademark registration and design protection, digital brand protection, digital threat intelligence, cybersecurity and portfolio management.

Zacco has more than 500 employees comprising experts in all aspects of intellectual property, including patent, trademark and design attorneys as well as attorneys at laws and paralegals, cybersecurity specialists and software developers.